A couple of days ago my 3 year old female started scratching a lot. I noticed a red inflamed area on her chest. It has now covered her chest and front under arms and is red around her nipples. She seems to be licking her front pads as well and trying to scratch her face around her whiskers.

She is on Trifexis for fleas and heartworms. I have since been giving her Benedryl 2 times every 6 hours and rubbing coconut oil on her. It has not calmed down.

I have given her some probiotics today in case it started to develop into a yeast infection. I am trying to keep her from scratching and licking.

An acute onset of itching that starts on the chest, extends under the front legs and around the nipples, and includes the bottoms of the feet, I suspect is a contact allergy. She has been laying on or in something that has caused an allergic reaction. And it is something to which the other dogs (and cats) are not allergic.

She will need to avoid whatever it was-- any poison oak, or poison ivy in the area? A new wool or synthetic rug or piece of furniture? A new dog bed? New laundry detergent?

Give her a shampoo with baby shampoo or oatmeal shampoo, and use COOL water. Rinse well and Repeat. Do this every other day for one week, then as needed 1-2 times per week.

Put a soft white cotton T-shirt on her to try to prevent further self-trauma OR make her wear a
Comfy Cone Pet E-Collar.

Benadryl may make her drowsy, so that she will not lick or scratch as much. The dose for a dog is 1 mg per pound TWO to THREE times daily. (children's liquid Benadryl is 12.5mg/tsp and Adult Benadryl is 25 mg per tablet)

Can be given by dry pellet directly into the mouth, or put one pellet into a 1oz glass dropper bottle, and mix with Spring Water. (Do NOT touch pellets with your fingers).

Give one pellet, or 1/2 dropperful by mouth, every 1-2 hours for 3 doses. If NO response to first remedy, then switch to one of the other remedies, same dosage.

Coconut oil is useful for DRY skin, with dandruff, not usually helpful for red, inflamed itchy skin. You may need to use DAWN DISH DETERGENT to shampoo her to remove all the greasy coconut oil first, rinse well, followed by the Baby Shampoo or oatmeal shampoo.

Make up Rescue Remedy (use the 'human' drops that are preserved in Brandy NOT the 'animal' drops that contain glycerin): 20 drops added to a 4-6 oz pump spray bottle and fill with Spring Water. Keep refrigerated. Spray her underside, bottoms of feet, anywhere she is licking or itching. It will cool her down, and calm her skin, and calm her down if she licks it.

If there is NO response, or she is WORSE, in the next 24-48 hours, I suggest you seek the help of a holistic veterinarian who can do a thorough physical exam!

My 6-year-old miniature schnauzer was having the exact same symptoms and had to be taken in to the vet a couple of times for skin cultures and given anti-yeast medications and steroid treatments. I thought that it was a flea allergy, but she'd been on K9 Advantix every month for the past couple of years since relocating to our current home where fleas are prevalent. The vet recommended a limited ingredient food diet to see if she was allergic to something she was ingesting, which we tried for two months with no better results. Other than that, all the vet could do was speculate that maybe she was reacting to some type of plant or something else in her environment. Nothing was giving us any answers or giving her any long term relief ... So expensive and frustrating!

Finally it dawned on me ... Is she reacting to the flea medication? It's nasty stuff that has warning labels all over it for humans to wash their hands immediately after applying it to their pet and to not touch that pet in the area where the medication was applied. Hello! TOXIC! As soon as I had that revelation, I discontinued it's use on both of my dogs and found a more holistic flea treatment (i.e. two capfuls of raw undistilled apple cider vinegar in their water twice per day). They've been off of K9 Advantix for 3-1/2 months now ... They're both doing incredibly well and my little girl, who had suffered so much for so long, is virtually itch free with no more rash or hot spots at all. I'm a firm believer that any product with the word "WARNING" all over it's packaging should be avoided at all cost by humans and pets alike.

Want monthly "News You Can Use"
and important Organic Pet Digest new content updates? Click
here to sign up for our FREE Dog Care Monthly
newsletter.

Do you believe in holistic pet care? If so, please tell your friends about us with a Facebook like, Google +1 or via Twitter, Pinterest, email or good old fashioned word of mouth. Thank you for supporting our efforts!

Disclaimers: The information contained in this web site is provided for general informational purposes only. It is not intended as nor should be relied upon as medical advice. Rather, it is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a pet owner/site visitor and his/her local veterinarian(s). Before you use any of the information provided in the site, you should seek the advice of a qualified professional.

In the spirit of full
disclosure, we wanted to let you know that we proudly support this
website through advertising and affiliate marketing. In other words,
when you click on a link that takes you outside of this website, we
often earn a small commission. These small commissions allow us to keep
the site up and running and to continue offering it completely free of
charge to you. Rest assured that all content, recommendations and
advice are created before, and are independent of, any sponsorship or
affiliate relationship. Click
here for more info.

Sign up now to receive important Organic Pet Digest news and research updates...

Disclaimers: The information contained in this web site is provided for general informational purposes only. It is not intended as nor should be relied upon as medical advice. Rather, it is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a pet owner/site visitor and his/her local veterinarian(s). Before you use any of the information provided in the site, you should seek the advice of a qualified professional.

In the spirit of full
disclosure, we wanted to let you know that we proudly support this
website through advertising and affiliate marketing. In other words,
when you click on a link that takes you outside of this website, we
often earn a small commission. These small commissions allow us to keep
the site up and running and to continue offering it completely free of
charge to you. Rest assured that all content, recommendations and
advice are created before, and are independent of, any sponsorship or
affiliate relationship. Click
here for more info.